Thursday, July 10, 2008

This Week on Australian Screens

Cinema Releases for the Week 10/07/08

Meet Dave - A new Eddie Murphy comedy is not generally cause for alarm, but this sci-fi flick about a bunch of tiny aliens coming to earth in a spaceship that looks like Eddie Murphy has been getting some very decent reviews, which surprises me greatly. Doesn't this whole thing sound like a really silly 1980s movie though? And if it starred Murphy back then it'd be filled with curse words and sex jokes. It'd probably be more appealing, too...

The Love Guru - I have nothing to say about this non-comedy starring Mike Myers, other than I hope this film's flop status tells casting directors to stop hiring Justing Timberlake. Seriously! He hasn't had a single successful movie so it's obvious horny teenage girls aren't going to his movies to see him (such is the downfall of YouTube, I imagine) and he's not a good actor (consistently the worst thing about any movie he's in). So, please. Stop.

Mamma Mia! - Australia gets this ABBA musical, based on the stage show, a week before the US (wow!), where it debuts opposite The Dark Knight next week. I'm fairly certain that Mamma Mia! is going to be maaaassive down here. For whatever reason, Australia has always been a little bit cuckoo over ABBA.

I went to the Australian premier last night at Melbourne Central where I had made it my mission to get a photo with Meryl Streep or an autograph. Alas, I F-A-I-L-E-D. I got soooo close to getting her to sign my DVD copy of Angels in America, but she she turned away just as she was about to walk past me. And then I ran around to where she was again and she turned to go up the escalator again just as she was about to get to me. UNLUCKY! Oh well. I was still in the presence of greatness, and I got a photo of her at least, which I'll post later when I get the cords to the digital camera!

And, to address some of the comments in the linked entry above, Meryl Streep did not kill me. I was just away from the computer for a couple of days.

Up the Yangtze - This Canadian documentary by Yung Chang follows the devastating effect that the Three Gorges Dam project has had on the over 4 million people who have already or will have to relocate due to the project from the banks of the famed Yangtze River. I think I'm going to try and make an effort to see this film - I tend not to see documentaries at the cinema (or even that much on DVD, unfortunately) - because so many of them seem desperate to be uncinematic, but Up the Yangtze looks great and the subject matter is of great interest to me after, last year, seeing Still Life, which was about the same topic.

DVD Releases for the Week 10/07/08

The Eye - This is yet another American remake of an Asian horror flick. Nobody cared when it was released, but I'm glad it was made, because - for no other reason - it gave us the visual hilarity that was this publicity still.

Rambo IV - I know it only goes by the name Rambo, but I think it's silly to call the forth film in a series by something as singular as Rambo. Also, it makes me giggle to think of "Sylvester Stallone needs to IV drip to make it through the movie" jokes. Funniness aside, I actually kinda didn't sorta maybe mind the movie(?) It's ridiculous and utterly deranged, but it does it was does and does it moderately well. The make-up work is - and I am not joking here - Oscar-worthy. I

Run Fat Boy Run - This David Schwimmer-directed Simon Pegg-starring flick was a small hit at the box office earlier this year for some reason. I still don't understand the plot of it, or why we're meant to cheer for a guy who dumps his heavily pregnant wife on their wedding day. Maybe I'm just missing something.

Sleuth - Michael Caine and Jude Law talk a lot in a weird techno house. Indeed.

4 comments:

I think more people were interested in Colin Firth. But there were two levels of Melb Central completely full and the ground level was filled entirely with photos/journos/prize winners (i assumed). I didn't even see outside.

Basically the only places you could be guaranteed to get an autograph were outside and the top of the escalators where you would have had no view whatsoever of what was going on. The setup wasn't what I was expecting, tbh.

I actually think Justin Timberlake is a funny guy and could be a great comedic actor- he just needs the right showcase for his talents. I haven't seen Southland Tales or Alpha Dog, but I have watched Black Snake Moan and agree that he was probably the worst thing about it. The problem was that the film didn't play up to his strengths. He needs to do something in the vein of The Love Guru but much, much better. I have faith that one day he'll find the right role.

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